Anjani Ambegaokar is a senior guru, choreographer, and renowned artist of Kathak dance who was awarded the National Endowment for The Arts National Heritage Fellowship for lifetime achievement in her field. Anjani teaches Kathak at UC Irvine as a visiting lecturer and was the lead choreographer for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2008 production of The Clay Cart. Anjani's dance school, Sundar Kala Kendra, has trained several hundred students over nearly 25 years and her professional touring company, Anjani Dance Theatre, has performed all over the USA, Canada, Europe and India, featuring the exceptionally trained dancers of Sundar Kala Kendra.

Ph: (909) 595-8934
email: anjania@aol.com
www.sundarkalakendra.org
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ANJANI GUPTA

Anjani Gupta is a practicing artist and digital graphic designer. With a degree in Fine Arts & Graphic Design, she has been teaching art for the last six years in Irvine. In addition, she has been creating custom art pieces, working with different media such as acrylics, oil and watercolors. She also uses traditional Indian techniques such as glass painting, nib painting, metal embossing and carving. Art is her passion which she enjoys sharing with the community. To fulfill this dream, her company VisnArt was formed: to convert vision into art.

Ph: (949) 735-2672
email: Gupta_anjie@yahoo.com
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ANU SRIRAM

The Bala Vihar classes familiarize children with stories from epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharatha and emphasize important values.

Ph: 949-733-3150 (Home)
email: anu_sriram2002@yahoo.com
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DEEPALI VORA
NITYA SHETRA SCHOOL OF DANCE

Guru Deepali Vora is the founder and director of Nitya Shetra Dance School of Southern California, one of the leading schools of Bharatanatyam. She arrived from Chennai, India and opened her school doors in 1997. Deepali has received rigorous training in the Thanjavur style of Bharatanatyam from Guru Madurai Muralidharan of the Nrityakshetra Dance School in Chennai, India. She started off as an assistant teacher to Guru Muralidaran before she moved here and started her own school. Deepali has won much acclaim for her performances in India and the United States. She has over 250 dance credits to her name. Her complex footwork mingled with her grace, expression, imagination, and creativity gives her the unique style that makes her one of the leading gurus in Southern California.

Ph: 310-525-0301
email: Nityashetra@yahoo.com
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The Yoga Institute Mumbai, India was founded in 1918 by Shri Yogendraji and is the oldest organized centre of Yoga in the world. This Institute teaches yoga to householders, who have to balance their life between their health, duties and pleasures. The Institute believes yoga which helps build physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth and stability, will truly help in living a fulfilling life as a householder and therefore evolve as a human being. Dharmi Shah a certified yoga teacher from The Yoga Institute has been teaching Yoga since 2008. For more information, please contact Dharmi at 

Ph: (949) 204-3174
email: dds11283@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dharmihealthnhappiness

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GEETHA NIRAND
Kannada Kali

Ph: (949) 387-7277
email: gnirand@hotmail.com / vish.dixit@computer.org
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IQBAL SINGH GREWAL
Coordinator, Punjabi Community Center

Ph: (714) 282-8607
(714) 915-1366
email: grewal998@aol.com
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JYOTI PRAKASH MISTRY

Born in 1970, Jyoti Prakash started learning tabla at a very early age from his father Sri Nagendranath. He later studied with Pt. Abhijit Banerjee, one of the top ranking tabla players in India, who is a veteran student of the illustrious guru Pt. Gyan Prakash Ghosh. In addition to tabla, Jyoti Prakash has also learnt other Indian percussion instruments under the guidance of Sri Brojen Biswas, a well-known percussionist in India. He is a regular performing artist on All India Radio and Doordarshan (television). He currently teaches at Dhwani Academy Of Percussion, in San Diego, Irvine and Los Angeles, a prestigious institution founded by Pt. Abhijit Banerjee.

Ph: (714) 396-4083
email: jyotidhwani@yahoo.com
www.abhijitbanerjee.com
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NAKUL DEV MAHAJAN
NDM DANCE STUDIOS

Nakul Dev Mahajan, "Hollywood's Favorite Bollywood Choreographer," is the Founder and Artistic Director of NDM Bollywood Dance Productions & Studios Inc, the premiere Bollywood Dance company in the United States. With over 20 years of professional experience, Nakul has become a Bollywood ambassador, bringing the Art of Bollywood dancing to diverse audiences throughout the US and beyond.

Best known for his choreography on “So You Think You Can Dance,” Nakul's unique dance style and choreography fuses a diverse repertoire including Indian classical styles, Bhangra, Folk, Ballroom, Latin, Hip-hop, Modern, and Jazz. Nakul's work and vision to open the first Bollywood dance studio in the nation has created national press and entertainment attention, including features on ABC Nightline, Time Magazine, and The Los Angeles Times.

He has worked with a plethora of celebrities such as Natalie Portman, David Schwimmer, Chris Kattan, Steve Carrel, and Kal Penn, to name a few. His major Hollywood choreography credits include So You Think You Can Dance, America's Best Dance Crew, Passions, The Office, MTV, E! Entertainment, Good Morning America and Superstars of Dance. Nakul's choreography has garnered international interest and secured his role as Hollywood's Favorite Bollywood Choreographer.

Nakul has been graced with various awards and accolades, including being chosen as Mr. India California and over fifty prestigious dance awards in the South Asian community in the United States. Nakul also contributes his talents for various South Asian charities throughout the year for children in poverty and women in abusive conditions.

Ph: (562) 402-7761
email: ndmdancestudios@yahoo.com
www.ndmdance.com
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PADMAJA ACHARYA, an exponent in Odissi, Bharatanatyam and the Indian Classical & Contemporary Fusion, teaches and choreographs the dance forms in Ektaa Center. Her students have been receiving accolades for their performances in Irvine Global Village Festival, Grand Independence Day Celebrations – Cerritos, Neema Dance Competition and Diwali Mela to name a few.
Actually she started her training in dance in Kathak and Manipuri folk dance at a tender age of four and started learning Bharatanatyam at the age of seven from Kalakhsetra under Guru Vijayalakshmi in Chennai.  After seven years of training she performed her Arangetram at Music Academy in Chennai and moved on to perform at various concerts along with PadmaShri Smt. Chitra Visveswaran.
She performed for regional and national channels, the Singapore TV and various children’s program specially composed for metro channels. She has also attended various workshops held by Dr. Padma Subramaniam.
She performed various dance ballets under Guru Adilakshmi of Vizag and later learnt Odissi under Guru Natabar Maharana an exponent of temple and Chau dance forms in Mumbai.
After taking a break from dance to complete her graduation and post graduation she trained under Shiamak Davar from SDIPA in contemporary, hip hop, jazz, salsa and indo jazz dance forms. She was a part of his troupe for performances at NCPA auditorium in Mumbai.
She has choreographed a number of group and individual performances in the classical and traditional mode as well as in modern fast paced compositions. Equally adept in the role play of mythical characters as well as contemporary styles of Abhinaya and Nrithya her perceptive portrayals of mythological characters in various innovative renditions of the classical form has won her wide acclaim, especially in temple dance forms. She has also been instrumental in participating, choreographing and organizing dance competitions at school and college level. She won numerous awards in classical dance competitions and has also judged many such performances at regional level.

PREETI SINGH

Sahaja Meditation is a an international non profit organization that promotes the practice of meditation to help one overcome obstacles to their physical, mental, and emotional health. Unlike other forms of meditation, in which one's mental state is dependent on a focused thought, Sahaja Meditation helps one relax their mind by eliciting a state of 'thoughtless awareness'. This is meditation in its purest and most original form. By coming to Sahaja Meditation meetings, one would learn the ancient knowledge of the subtle system, a collection of energy centers and channels within the human body, and how to get into thoughless awareness on a regular basis. Introductory meetings are on Sundays from 4:00 to 5:00 PM at Ektaa Center. There is never a charge for learning Sahaja meditation from introductory to advance levels. Please register with Preeti Singh by phone or by email.

Ph: 949-413-6223
email: G4210@aol.com
www.sahajayoga.org
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RAMYA HARISHANKAR
ARPANA SCHOOL OF DANCE

Ramya Harishankar combines the elegance, grace and suppleness of the Vazhavoor School of Bharata Natyam with the distinctive ability to express all shades of emotion with sensitivity and intuition. She has imbibed these qualities under legendary gurus: the late Swamimalai K. Rajaratnam and Padma Bhushan Kalanidhi Narayanan.

In 1982, Harishankar established Arpana, which has grown to become a premier school of Bharata Natyam in California. In 2007, the 25th anniversary of the Arpana School of Dance was recognized with several citations and awards from the State Senate, County of Los Angeles and cities and organizations in Southern California, as well as the Helene Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award from Arts OC, the countywide arts organization in Orange County. The Arpana Dance Company (ADC), made up of the graduates of the school, has performed under her guidance in the US, Europe and India.

Harishankar has also received several grants from the California Arts Council, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, the Fund for Folk Culture and the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA). As an artist on the Arts Teach and Arts Connect roster of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, she has been sharing her art with schoolchildren all over Southern California. Her solo career spanning more than three decades has taken her all over the world, performing extensively in India, S. E. Asia, the Far East, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Canada and the US.

Ph: (949) 874-3662
email: ramya@danceramya.com
www.danceramya.com
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RUCHI LAMBA
MONSOON DANCE ACADEMY

Ruchi is a top-rated Bollywood dance instructor from Australia who combines Indian classical dance styles with modern jazz and hip-hop. She started learning Kathak at the age of four and continued her Kathak education with Guru Shakuntala Devi in Sydney, Australia. Guru Raghavan Nair of Bharatiya Kala Kendra in New Delhi taught her Kuchipudi, and she pursued Jazz and Hip-Hop at the Sydney Dance Academy in Australia. Ruchi has performed at more than 100 venues all over the world including the Sydney Opera House in Australia and Wembley Stadium in London. She was principal dancer at Kalabharati School of Dance in Sydney, Australia and chief choreographer with Sydney's Indian Dance Center.
Ph. (949) 466-5220
email: ruchi@monsoondanceacademy.com

Monsoon Dance Academy offers classes in traditional dance forms such as Kathak and Kuchipudi, as well as modern forms such as Jazz and Hip-Hop. Music is often chosen from Indian films, and students are provided with plenty of dance opportunities. Our lessons are planned so that the dancers will receive individual attention and encouragement. We focus on developing our students' self-discipline as well as dance skills, and we know it is important for a budding artist to experience success in order to develop a positive self-image. We believe teaching the art of dance is an honor, and therefore each student is an individual and should be treated with respect and encouragement. We know that each dance student has different talents and it's our job to develop them to the fullest. We use dance as tool to help others, especially young children, develop a positive self-image.
www.monsoondanceacademy.com
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SAMITA SARKAR
PATHSALA

Cultural and Langage Classes in Bengali

Ph: (949) 466-7638
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Smita Rawal is a classical Kathak Dance for beginners taught by Smita Rawal of Sundar Kala Kendra Kathak Dance School. She is trained by Smt. Anjani Ambegaokar for over 20 years, she is the lead dancer of Anjani's Kathak Dance of India, the nationally know touring company for over 11 years and has been invited to a full length classical Kathak solo at the prestigious Music Circle in Pasadena. She is teaching on Mondays from 6.30 to 7.30 pm in room #104 a thee Ektaa Center

SMITA VENKATESH, co-founder of SUR Academy, has a passion for Indian heritage and spirituality. Being the daughter of renowned Indian Spiritual Guru Swami Divya Chetnanand, Smita was trained in Hindu scriptures and mythology from an early age. Her passion earned her Gold Medal in Sanskrit & Philosophy Degree from the prestigious Kavi Kulguru Kalidas University.This was in addition to the Electronics Engineering & Management degree from Mumbai university.
She started teaching Bala Gurukulam classes in California in 2006 as a way to share her knowledge with children that were born and raised in the United States. She has combined her detailed knowledge of Indian culture with her own background in Indian musical theatre to create a syllabus that is educational and appealing for young minds.
The Aims of Bala Gurukulam is:
•    To instill the Moral Value System of Sanatam Dharma to children, as taught in our scriptures -The Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Epics & Puranas,  and guide them to grow into responsible citizens of the future.
•    To impart to children the glory of our rich culture and reverence for our ancient Indian heritage.
•    To introduce to children the concepts of Indian culture, symbolism, deity worship etc in the form of stories, quizes, crafts, bhajans, hymns, shlokas, skits etc
The Bala Gurukulam syllabus includes popular Shlokas & stoies from Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, Hanuman Chalisa, Lingashatakam, Guru sthotram, Ganesh sthotram and more. Also, to support above activities, optional language classes in Hindi & Sanskrit are also taught to kids so that they can read & pronounce correctly.